DEXTERITY | S. BLACK

14.

CALLISTA DIDN'T TELL HER PARENTS that she was leaving that morning — a fact that both terrified and excited her. She could feel the adrenaline course through her system and her heart beat out of her chest. She'd get into trouble later. Of course she would. But, for the first time in forever, she didn't care.

     Sirius had offered to pick her up at the Leaky Cauldron and upon her apparition, she was met with the sight of three familiar faces. A smiling Sirius, accompanied by his right hand man James, waved over at her. On James' left, Peter and an older fellow could be seen hunched over, their faces contorted in focus, playing an intense game of wizard's chess. Before she could greet the boys, she caught a flash of ginger in her peripheral.

     "Callista!"

     "Lily!" She threw her arms around the redhead as Lily jumped on her. "Happy Christmas!"

     "Happy Christmas," Lily repeated brightly, letting the girl go so she could catch her breath. "I've missed you."

     "I have too."

     "Remus couldn't make it," Lily told her sadly. "You know how his mother is."

     Callista nodded. "They're both rather sickly, aren't they?" With a sigh, she added, "I do hope she gets better soon."

     As the boys got up to meet her, Callista couldn't help but wonder when her life became such a movie. Since when did she have such wonderful people she could call friends? She beamed at the group of Gryffindors and couldn't find in it her to stop. The muscles in her face would hurt from smiling so much, but it was a small price to pay. When Sirius grabbed her by the hand and lead her onto the streets of muggle London, even with the smell of exhaust fumes and the noisy car horns, with Lily and James walking hand-in-hand and Peter beside them, ranting over his unfinished game of chess, Callista was happy.

     She had never been out in the muggle world before. Buildings that stood older than her grandparents were draped in the falling snow. The streets were bustling with muggle automobiles of all colours; huge red buses and black and yellow cars. Blue-uniformed muggles were scattered amongst the streets, standing guard. The cold December air beat against the boarded up windows of the houses lining the streets, blowing through her hair and billowing through the dress Lily had lent her.

"Callista, look!" Lily pointed to a dimly lit building, with huge glass windows and spray paint on the walls. "They do tattoos in there."

     "The ink drawings on your skin?" Callista asked in excitement. "Really?"

     Lily nodded, laughing as James pulled her away to a muggle bakery around the corner. Peter, who was never one to turn down food, followed them gladly.

     "D'you want us to go inside?" Sirius considered, gazing at the shady looking shop.

     "You're coming with me?" she enquired in surprise.

     He pushed the door open, and motioned for her to walk ahead of him. "As if I'd miss out on looking like those blokes in the muggle magazines."

"You're going to get one?" She turned to him with wide eyes.

"Well, someone has to," he shrugged, taking off his coat and tilting his head towards the man at the back of the parlour. "I doubt they'd just let us sit by and watch."

"But still," Callista protested, folding his coat in her arms, as she followed him towards the muggle man, "shouldn't you at least think about it more?"

The room reeked of cigarettes and some other drug that Callista didn't know of. There were beer cans laying around on the floor, and Sirius kicked them as he walked.